Gunman wounds 8 after being denied entry to Texas bar

Being told you’re not allowed to enter a nightspot can be a humiliating experience, especially when it’s played out in front of a crowd of other partying punters.

But a man drinking in Texas on Friday night handled that nightly occurrence so poorly that he is now on the run.

The man started shooting indiscriminately outside a crowded bar in San Antonio, wounding eight people, after a bouncer told him he couldn’t come in because he was drunk.

No one died and those injured – five women and three men between the ages of 23 and 41 – were said to be in a stable condition Saturday.

The gunman was part of a group of three or four men and women who left a bar in northern San Antonio and walked across the street to Rebar, a large nightspot that often has live music and DJ performance. The group was refused entry for being “inebriated,” San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said in a briefing.

One especially indignant man in the group responded by saying, “Don’t you know who I am? I’m a UFC fighter from California”

Without waiting for an answer, the man walked across the street to his car and took out a long rifle. He then walked back to the bar’s parking lot and started spraying bullets into the crowd before running away.

Although the suspect was still at large late Saturday, police believe that he no longer poses a risk to the area, McManus said.

Two of the eight injured were only grazed by bullets and refused treatment. Six others were taken to hospital, including the most seriously injured victim, who was shot in the back.

Staff were shaken up by the incident, according to Greg Bickerstaff, a spokseman for the bar.

“The rounds went through the front door and struck some patrons that were inside the bar,” Bickerstaff told KSAT.

“Our hearts go out to those victims injured and affected by this senseless act of rage,” Bickerstaff added. “It’s hard to really, to express sadness that we feel and pray they all make a full recovery.”